1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for inputting characters, and more particularly, to a character input method and apparatus for allowing a user to correct mistyped characters.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the number of various services and additional functions provided by mobile derives has gradually increased. In order to increase the utility of these mobile devices and satisfy various needs of users, a variety of applications that can be executed in the mobile devices have been developed.
Such applications can be classified into default applications that are developed or provided by the manufacturer of the mobile devices and installed in the mobile devices, and additional applications that can be downloaded, such as from application sales websites over the Internet. The additional applications may be developed by general developers and registered in application sales websites. Therefore, various entities may be able to provide their applications, through application sales websites, to users of the mobile devices. Accordingly, tens to hundreds of thousands of free or paid applications may be provided to the currently available mobile devices depending on their specifications.
As messaging applications and social media applications become increasingly popular, users of mobile devices may often input (i.e., enter or type) characters (or text) on the mobile devices. In line with these trends, a variety of character input applications have been developed to provide an environment to input characters. However, there is still a need for new ways for users to more quickly and conveniently input characters.
FIGS. 1A to 1D illustrate an example of a character input method.
Referring to FIG. 1A, as a user inputs characters in a character input window 101 using a keypad displayed on a mobile terminal, when the user finds a mistyped character to be corrected, the user moves a cursor to the rear of the mistyped character 103, as shown in FIG. 1B. Thereafter, the user deletes the mistyped character 103, by inputting a key (e.g., a backspace key) 102 having a function of deleting characters, as illustrated in FIG. 1C. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 1D, the user inputs the correct character, completing the character correction.
However, when correcting characters in this way, the user touches a character input window in which a mistyped character is displayed, and moves the cursor to the rear of the mistyped character, by using the arrow keys or touching the target with his/her fingertip, in a keypad input mode, thereby causing a delay in inputting characters, and further inconveniencing the user by requiring the user to move the cursor. Since the user needs to touch the character input window and move the cursor to the target position in order to perform the correction, the user may have difficulty in moving the cursor to a desired position. This problem becomes greater due to the trend of increased resolution in new display devices, which reduces the gap between characters on a display.
FIGS. 2A to 2D illustrate another example of a character input method.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 2D, in order to more quickly and conveniently input characters, a user may delete characters up to the mistyped character 103, as shown in FIG. 2B, by inputting a key (for example, a backspace key) 102 having a function of deleting characters, instead of moving the cursor to the rear of the mistyped character 103, while inputting characters using a keypad displayed on a mobile terminal, input the correct character as illustrated in FIG. 2C, and then input the rest of the characters, completing the character correction, as shown in FIG. 2D.
In this method for correcting mistyped characters, the user deletes the correctly typed characters in addition to the mistyped characters, and thus must re-input the correctly typed characters after correcting the typographical errors.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present invention.